Assembling apparatus



Patented July 18, 1950 ASSEMBLING `APPARATUS Edward Bertalan, Oak Park,`Ill., assgnor to `Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New

York, N. Y., a corporation ,of New York I Application March 12, 1946,Serial No. 653,884

This invention relates to assembling apparatus and more particularly toapparatus for applying insulating discs upon a conductor. i

The present invention embodies apparatus for applying relatively soft,plastic insulating discs upon the central conductor of a core unit usedin the manufacture of coaxial cable units. A plurality ofV these coaxialcable units may be combined to form a coaxial cable used in telephoneand television transmission networks'. A coaxial unit usually comprisesa core unit made up of a central conductor having a plurality of annularinsulating discs uniformly spaced thereon, an outer tubular conductorformed over the core unit, and thin steel tape spirally wound around theouter conductor.

The various (noeration'sl necessary to form these coaxial units usuallyare incorporated and coordinated in a single coaxial unit formingmachine. Such machines are provided with means for detecting the failureof the disc applying mechanism to apply a disc to the moving conductorat' a desired point, and meansA for detecting the presence of foreignconductive matter i-n the discs. lf there is a missing disc, a disc mustbe manually applied at the appropriateuposition on the centralconductor, essary that the old disc be removed and a new disc be appliedmanually to the conductor at the point where the defective disc wasremoved- It is obvious that the application of an insulating disc on thecentral conductor' at this stage` in the manufacture of a coaxial cableunit must be performed by a manually operated apparatus.y The particularfunctions to be performed by the manually operated apparatus aregoverned mainly by the kind of insulating material used in making thediscs to be applied to the conductor. irrespective of the type ofmaterial used in the manufacture of the insulating discs or the type ofcoaxial unity form-ing machine used for applying the discs on thecentral conductor, it is clear that, in order to assemble annularinsulating discs on the central conductor, they must be provided with aradial slit or slotcommunicating with the center aperturey thereof sothat, when the discs are applied to the con-ductor, the conductor maypassi therethrough into the center aperture.

It has been suggested heretofore that insulating discs used in themanufacturev of coaxial cable unitsbe made of. a suitable stiffmaterial-,\ such asY hardl rubber, or from a plastid` such aspolystyrene. However, because of the relatively'poor electricalcharacteristics of hard rubber and the manufacturing difficultiesinvolved* in using polystyrene, the insulatingy discs generally usedsinthe manufacture of coaxial.. cables are` made ofthe plastic knownas'pol:,zeth-ylene.r

As itsI name implies,y polyethylene is obtained by polymerizingethylene. Ther usual commer- 7 claims. (c1. 2s-2635 1 cial formofpolyethylene is a moderately soft,

pliable material having a, high molecular weight and possessingexcellent electrical insulating. characteristics. Polyethylene issuf'ciently hard to ypermit insulating discs made therefrom tomaintaintheir shapes under ordinary circumstances, but it is soft enoughto cause some manufacturing difficulties to arise when slotted discsare'punched from strips thereof.

, Furthermore, when slotted discs of the type formerly made of hardrubber were made of polyethylene and4 were forced upon a centralconductor,.,the sides of the slots occasionally were deformed bythepassage of. the conductor therethrough. As a result, the discs would notadhere' firmlyV to the central conductor and would tend to lslide alongthe conductor or might.' even come off the conductor. In addition, itisrelatively easy yto force such discs off the conductor by a thrustapplied on the sides of the discs opposite the slots and substantiallylongitudinally of the conductor, because. the small amount of thematerial inthe Walls of the slots against whichthe conductor pressesunder those circumstances does not possess enough sheer strength to'-hold the discs in place. Consequently, coaxial cable units If there isa defective disc, it is neccould not be satisfactorily manufactured byusing dises made of-polyethylene which had been preslotted and ,thenforced on the central conductor.

v In order to overcome these manufacturing difficulties, it wasnecessary to provide suitable means for cutting radial, line-like slitsin centrally `perforated polyethylene insulating discs, means forholding the slits open so that the central conductor may be passedtherethrough into the central aperture without damaging the forwardcorners and sides of theslits, and means for applying the slitted discsto a central conductor with a wiping'motiom Itis evident that by cuttinga line-like, radial slit from the center aperture to the periphery of.the disc, no material is removed from the disc. By virtue of this fact,the entire -Wall surface-of thecenter aperture of the disc is preserved,and when such radially slit discs are in position on a centralconductor, they will readily withstand considerable thrust applied onthe sides of the discs adjacent to the slit.

Furthermore, discs so applied to a central conductor adhere moreforcibly thereto because the natural resiliency thereof causes the sidesof the radial slit to close together, whereby the conductor is firmlygripped by the walls of the center aperture and is also engaged by asubstantially solid ring of insulating material. It is obvious that themanual application of such plastic discs must be performed by a, toolwhich will also vslit and apply the discs to the' conductor in the'abovedescribed manner and must also have means' for spacing the manuallyapplied discs with respect to the discs already present. on theconductor.

The present invention comprises an apparatus for radially slitting andapplying plastic insulating discs upon a conductor with a wiping motionin one operation. Preferably, means are provided for gauging theposition of the manually applied discs with respect to the adjacentdiscs Y present on the conductor. y

A n object of the invention is to provide new and improved assemblingapparatus.

In one embodiment of thev invention there is provided a plier-like toolhaving a disc supply magazine secured to the nose portion thereof. Anoscillatory disc carrier is positioned on the nose portion and alignedwith the discharge end of the discy magazine. A knife is positioned onthe nose of the tool so that its cutting edge is adjacent to theshoulder of the disc carrier, whereby when the` disc carrier isoscillated, a disc engaged thereby is carried past the knife, which cutsa radial slit in the disc and serves to hold the slit open so that thedisc may be Iapplied to a conductor with a wiping motion..

A clear understanding of the invention may be had from the followingdetailed description of a specific embodiment thereof, when read inconjunction with the appended drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an end view of a tool, which may be used to practice theinvention, having portions of the cover plate broken away;

Fig. 2 is a right hand side view ofthe tool shown in Fig. 1, in whichportions thereof have been broken away;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal, sectional view of the tool taken along line3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of the top of the tool showing the tool inits operated position;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, left hand, side view of the upper portion ofthe tool; y

Fig. 6 is an enlarged, Vertical section of a por.- tion of the apparatustaken along line 6-.6 of Fig. 3;

Fig. '7 is an enlarged, isometric view of the disc slitting knife usedin the apparatus, and

Fig. 8 is a vertical section taken along line -8-8 of Fig. 2.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, and more particularly to Fig.l, there is shown .a plierlike tool comprising a stationary arm I IlIand a movable arm II. The stationary arm IU comprises a body portion I2which is provided with a wide, longitudinal slotl I3 communicating witha transverse slot I4. The body portion I2 is provided with a bore I5 inwhich is rigidly positioned a post IIB. A bore 2l)V is also provided inthe body portion I 2 concentric with the bore I6 rand having a portionof its periphery communicating with the slot I4 (Figs. 2 and 3), A rack2I is slidably positioned in the slot I4 and engages a pinion 22positioned in the bore 20 and movably mounted on the shaft I6.

An oscillatory disc carrier 25 (Figs. 1, 2, and 3) is pinned to thepinion 22 and movable therewith. The disc carrier 25 is provided with asemi-circular body portion 2S and a larger arcuate portion 21 whoseperiphery is provided with an arcuate groove 3U extending the fulllength of the arcuate portion 21. A left hand face 3| of the disccarrier 25 formed by the junction of the body portion 26 and the arcuateportion 21 abuts a projection 32 provided on a top cover plate 33 (Fig.3). The projection 32 serves to align a shoulder 34 provided on the disccarrier 25 with a T-shaped slot 35 provided in a disc supply magazine36.

The disc supply magazine 3B is rigidly secured to a bracket 31, which issecured to the body por- Y plastic 'discs 45-45 have been punched fromstrips of plastic material such as polyethylene, or the like, duringwhich operation they are provided With a central bore 48.

The opposite side of the housing enclosing the torsion spring 4Icomprises a plate 45 which is secured to the top cover plate 33 by meansof a pair of screws 41-41 threaded into a ange 49 provided on the end ofthe plate 46. The post 42 is hexagonal in cross-section and secured tothe bracket 31 by a bolt 50 so that it is aligned with a hexagonalaperture 5I provided in the plate 46. `The hexagonal aperture 5Iprevents rotation of the post 42 when the end of the torsion spring 4Iis secured to the slide 43 positioned in the T-shaped slot 35 (Fig. 2)

An L-shaped knife holder `52 (Fig. 7) is secured to the disc magazine 36by a pair of screws 54-54, adjacent to the body portion I2. Anirregularly shaped knife blade 55 (Fig. 6) is secured to the short legof the L-shaped holder 53 and projects inwardly in the path of the disccarrier 25. The knife blade 55 is provided with a cutting edge 5'6,which projects in an oblique direction from the back of the knife holder53 to the center aperture 48 of the disc 45 positioned against theshoulder 34 of the disc carrier 25 (Figs. 3 `and 6). The cutting edge 56(Fig. 7) is sharpened in such a manner that a gradual taper is providedtherefrom to a substantially thicker back edge 51 of the blade 55.

This manner of sharpening the cutting edge 55 also provides van arcuateshoulder 58 on both sides of the blade which extends from the cuttingedge 56 to the back edge 51 of the blade 55. The knife holder 53 ispositioned on the magazine 36 so that the blade 55 is aligned with thearcuate groove 30 of the disc carrier 25, which permits the disc carrier25 to carry the discs i5-"l5 from the cutting edge 55 to the back edge51 of the blade. The arcuate shoulders 58-58 provided on the blade 55serve to engage the periphery of the disc 45 adjacent to the ends of theradial slit, whereby the disc 45 during its travel over the knife blade55 is urged toward the body portion 25 of the disc carrier 25. Theurging of discs in this direction serves to prevent an arcuate side 59of the blade 55 from damaging or cutting into the opposite wall of thecenter bore 48 of the disc. An

end cover plate 60 is secured to the body portion I2 and. the top cover33 by means of a plurality of bolts 6I-BI and 'has provided therein aslot 62 which is alignedy with a slot B3 provided in the top cover plate33.

The stationary arm I0 of the plier-like tool is provided with a handle65 having a groove 66 provided therein to receive a tongue 61 integralwith the body portion I2. The handle 65 is secured to the tongue 61 by aplurality of bolts 68-68 (Fig. 1). The movable arm II comprises an upperarm 10 and a lower arm 1I pinned together, as shown in Fig. 1, so as toform a hub 12. The hub 12 is provided with a bore 13 whereby the arm I Imay be rotatably mounted on a post 13 rigidly secured in a bore 14provided in the body portion IZ. The bodyportiom I21 is alscprovided,

jacent to the: hub. lll."L positioned im the slot 1G.

A borell' is provid'ed in theftcngue 67|.v toa re cei've a Icompressionspring M' and aplunger. v82 which engagesthe bentendll-l.' of the lower-arm and serves tofmaintairr the upper-amm 'llrof the arm ll?,substantiallyadiacent tothe rig-ht hand side of the. slot |53;Vlll-lso;r the-.face 3|: ofthe disc carrier 25 is thereby maintainedagainst theme:- jection 32 on the cover plate 33. The arm: lll) islprovided with a ball-shaped. end' 85. which engagesr la', longitudinalislots- B6. provided-i` im the.: rack 2d... When the: movable arm |1| is.actuated, the upper arm. lll; moves-L towardl thel left hand side oftheslot |13 and' causes; therack" 2li to slide alpng the.` slot |54;wherebytha pinion 22 in'. engagement therewith'` is; rotated. 'Ehedisccarrier 25v secured thereto rotated until the; shoulderA 31|;y thereofis substantially adjacent tc.v a. shoulder' 8114" provided onthecpverplate33..

The slotsv 62 and provided. the end.` cover plate El) and the). top,Ecover1 plate 33,v respectively, are. provided therein 'te receive a`center conductor;` 90; on. which. has, been applied'L a. plurality/1" ciinsulating: discs 9|`9=| bymeans. not;slievvml A pin 92 ispositioned`in', the knife holder 5:3 so that the: upper portion .ot its peripheryis.- sub;- stantially inc. line: with. the! bottom on the slots: 2 and`63;` whereby the conductor 9U; positioned in the. slotmay' beiV alignedwithy the back'. fedge '5&1 of'the knife-blade 55;

The'I operation. ci: this` embodiment of the; inventiorr is as follows:

The plier-likev tool Wig.i l) is positioned; over the conductor 90. sothata face 95: provided on the knife: hol-der" 53- is in; engagementwith. .the particular disc at iwhichisadjacent, tba blank space-ton; theconductor 9dr.. With; the toolnposiationed. on@ thej conductor in this,manner; the handleY |I is squeezed toward the.- handle l0, whereby thediscy carrier is oscillated and carries`r one of the discs. 45.--4.5,which has: been. fed from. the; magazine 36? tothe shoulder 34,) pastthe cutting, edge 56 or the imite/blades:55,` whereby the disc isslfit.radially fromthe periphery of a center hole 48 provided therein to-ythe-outer periphery oi the disc. Als-'thev disc45'fcontinues to travelfrom the cutting edge 56 tothe'backedge 5l of the-knife bladeY 55;. theradial slit cut therein is spread open so that the radi-al slit may beengaged by the conductor 15m"l positioned adjacent to the back edge 51of. the knife blade55. The disc 45 is further carried by the disdcarrer.2:5, whereby the slitted portion passes by the conductor 90 until thecenterhole 48 is engaged by the conductor and the disc abuts: theshoulder'dlf of the top cover plate 33. TheI `disc 45 which has been...appl-iedby the. tool. to, the conductor Se in this manner is nowproperly positioned'thereon with respect to the discs: lll-illApreviously applied-.tothe conductor.v

The handle. ll may nowber released whereupon the spring-pressed plunger82T wil'l cause thedisc carrier 25` to 1 return-'to its normalposition,` whereupon the tool may be removed from the conducs againsttheI shoulder 34 in `which case the tool is ready to apply another ofthe discs 45--45 to a conductor such as: al conductor j when theoccasion arises;

TheY` above-described apparatus is particularly well adapted, to. slitand apply annular plastic discs on. a central conductor of a coaxialcable core-unit with a wiping motion.

Whatiszclaimed is.:

l. Apparatus for applying centrally perforated plastic:Y discs. on :aconductor, comprising a disc carrier having a cam-shaped periphery`which serves, toI form, a single shoulder thereon to. carry an singledisc. and also having an arcuate groove provided in a. portion of its.periphery and ex'- 'tending to said shoulder, means for successivelyfeeding discs in positions to be engaged by said shoulder" of? the disccarrier, a knife blade having its,l free end positioned adjacent tosaid. disc carrier; said knife. blade havingV a thin cutting edgepositioned adj acenttothe shoulder of andaligned the arcuategrooave inthe disc carrier, a substantiall'ythicker back edge and an arcuateshoulder provided -on both sides of said knife blade and extending: inan arc, from said thin edge to said thick, edge `and spaced from saidfree end, and means for turning the discl carrier one-quarter turn,Wherebya disc engaged, by said shoulder is thrust against the cuttingedge of said knife to cuna.` radial slit. in the disc and :as thel discis carried acrossathe surfacec the knife blade the arcuate shoulders onsaid 'blade guide the disc in an arcuateY path of travel with thecarrier.

2` A. plier-like tool for assembling centrally perforated discs; on aconductor, which comprises a. body member, a. discv carrier mounted onthe body' memberwand arranged to. carry one disc at a. time, means forsuccessively feeding discs` in position to'be engaged by said disccarrienmeans .pivotallymounted on said body member for turningy saiddisci carrier and a discv engaged thereby through apredetermined arc,means for aligning a conductor directly in the path of movement of a|discrcarried by the disc carrier, means for cutting, ay radial slit. ina disc carried by said disc carrier when said disc carrier is turned,said stitting means. being of sufficient length to hold the: s'lfitzopen so that the disc slit thereby may be slid: on a conductorpositioned in the aligning meanswith a-wipingmotion, and means forstopf.ping the travel of the disc carrier when the disc isxso positionedthatthe conductor passes through thecentralspierforati'on of the disc.

3l, Apliereliketool for applying centrally perforated: discs to thecentral conductor, a preassembledf coaxial cable core unit, whichcomprises a. handle, an arm pivotally mounted on Saidhandla a discvcarrier mounted on the end of said handle, means. actuated by saidpivotally arm; for oscillating said disc carrier. means for:successively feeding discs in the path of the, dise carrier', meanspositioned* adjacent tothe disc: carrier for cutting a radial slit in adisc carriedby the disc; carrier during its arcuate movement in onedirectiom means for aligning a, o01e.unit; on which. a discy is to. beapplied with the slittingy means, means for stopping the arcuate;movement of. the discV carrier after a predetermined'. travel, and meansfor locating the stopping means with respect to; a disc already 7lpresent on `said core unit, whereby when said 7 pivotallymounted arm isactuated a discengaged by said carrieris carried in an arcuate pathpastthe slitting means is forced on the conductor of the core unit andaccurately positioned thereon with respect to a disc already present onthe core unit. Y

4.. A tool for applying centrally perforated plas i tic insulating discsto a conductor comprising la handle, a disc carrier mounted on the endof the handle, said disc carrier being provided with a single shoulderfor carrying one disc at a time, and an arcuate groove cut in a portionof its periphery and extending to said shoulder, an arm pivotallymounted on the handle member, means actuated by movement of the armforoscillating A,

edge, and means for positioning a conductor adjacentvto the back edge ofsaid knife, whereby when the arm is actuated the disc carrier carries adisc engaged thereby past the cutting edge of the knife and the arcuategroove provided therein permits the disc carrier to carrythe disc to theback edge of the knife and thereafter force it on the conductorpositioned adjacent to said back `edge of the knife.

5. A plier-like tool for manually applying centrally perforatedinsulating discs to a core unit having a center conductor and aplurality of insulating discs positioned thereon, which comprises ahandle, an arm pivotally mounted on said handle, a disc carrierpositioned on the end of said handle, means actuated by movement of thepivotally mounted arm for oscillating said disc carrier, a disc supplymagazine mounted on the end of vsaid handle and having its discharge endadjacent to said disc carrier, means for urging discs positioned in saidmagazine into position to be engaged by the disc carrier, said disccarrier arranged to carry one disc at a time, means for aligning thedisc carrier with respect to the discharge end of the disc magazine,means positioned adjacent to said disc carrier for cutting a radial slitin a disc carried by said disc carrier, means for positioning the toolover the conductor so that the disc carrier is aligned with theconductor, and means for limiting the travel of the disc lcarrier andthe disc carried thereby.

6. A device for assembling plastic washers upon a core unit having acenter conductorv and a -plurality of insulating discs equally spacedthereon, which comprises a handle, a disc carrier mounted on the end ofsaid handle, said disc carrier having a single shoulder thereon forengaging one disc at a time, and an arcuate groove provided in a portionof its periphery, an arm pivotally mounted on said handle, meansactuated by movement of said arm for oscillating the disc 2";

carrier, a disc supply magazine mounted on the end of the handle andhaving a slot formed thereon for receiving a plurality of insulatingdiscs having holes in the center thereof, means for aligning theshoulder of the disc carrierwiththe .on the handle and having itscutting edge adjacentgtof-the shoulder, provided on the disccarrier;and=aligned with thearcuate groove provided in the, disc.carrier, said :knife being substantially thicker than the cutting edgeon the edge opposite its cutting edge .s o as to hold open a slit cut bythe knife in a disc carried by the disc carrier, means for positioningthe device over the core unit. so that the center conductor thereof isaligned with the thick edge ofthe knife, and meansffor orientating thetool positioned on the core =unit withrespect to the adjacent insulatingdiscs* present thereon, whereby when the movable arm is actuated thedisc carrier and a disc engaged thereby are moved in' an arcuate ypathpast the-knife whose cutting edge radially slits the dis'candfwhosethick edge holds said slit open so that as the disc leaves the knife itis positioned transversely on the conductor aligned therewith apredetermined distance away from the adjacent discss'f 7..A tool forapplying plastic insulating discs uponf-a conductor, comprising a handlehaving a transverse slot provided in the end thereof and a longitudinalslot communicating therewith, a disc :carrier mounted in the endthereof, a pinion rigidly secured to said disc carrier in situ, a rackslidably'positioned in said transverse slot and having its teeth inengagement with said pinion, an arm pivotally mounted on the said handleand having an upper portion thereof positioned in said. longitudinalslot, said upper portion of the pivotally mounted arm engaging saidrack, a

longitudinal slot provided in the end of the handle for. receiving aconductor, said disc carrier being provided with a shoulder and anarcuate groove `cut in aportion of its periphery and communicatingrvwith said shoulder, a disc supply magazine lmounted on the end of thehandle and having a a knife'positioned on the end of the handle memberand having its cutting edge adjacent to the shoulder of the disc carrierand aligned with the arcuate (groove provided in the said disc carrier,whereby when the pivotally mounted arm is actuated the movement of therack engaged thereby 'causes'the disc carrier to turn in one directionso that a discl engaged by the shoulder is moved in an arcuate path pastthe knife which cuts a rradial'slit therethrough and as the disc movesfrom the end-of said knife it is slid on the conductor positioned in theslot provided in the end of the handle. v

EDWARD BERTALAN.

REFERENCES CITED The followingreferences are of record in the file ofthis patent:

yUNITED STATES PA IE N IS Number` Name Date 1,588,413 Hardy June 15,1926 1,732,328 Cox Oct. 22, 1929 1,885,684 Cole Nov. 1, 1932 2,172,847Nydeggar et al. Sept. 12, 1939 2,192,229 Johnson et al. Mar. 5, 19402,355,833 Bertalan Aug. 15, 1944 2,404,782 Berggren et al July 30, 19462,426,623 y Larsen Sept. 2, 1947

